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The Price of Defeat
General Zarkuna One-Horn, Supreme Commander of the Dominion Legions, stood silently before the emperor, awaiting judgment His trusted friend and second-in-command, Colonel Kezrek Warbringer, sat behind him in the assembled crowd. Zarkuna One-Horn had just recounted his spectacularly embarrassing defeat at the battle of Jorigan Prime. The emperor had tasked the general with hunting down the Granok renegade Durek Stonebreaker to punish him for his crimes against the Dominion. The One-Horn had sworn that he would do it or die trying. Zarkuna had pursued Durek and the Destroyers to the Fringe world Jorigan Prime. Stonebreaker had retreated behind the planet using its mass to shield his troops from the approaching Dominion forces. Zarkuna sensed that victory was near. Despite Kezrek's vehement warnings, the general ordered a full-scale assault and led the charge in his own personal battleship. Stonebreaker had anticipated the general's reckless maneuver. Arriving on the far side of the planet Zarkuna found himself caught in a vicious ambush. More than half of his forces were destroyed in the initial attack, and the general's ship barely escaped after being engaged and damaged by the Stonebreaker's war frigate. Emperor Myrcalus sat in silence, regarding Zarkuna with an unfathomable gaze. By Dominion law, Zarkuna would be stripped of his title and executed by firing squad for dishonoring the empire. Myrcalus stood, preparing to deliver the sentence. But before he could do so, Kezrek Warbringer rose from his Seat. He turned and addressed the emperor directly, speaking in the ancient tongue of his people. "By the old ways of Mikros, I challenge the One-Horn for command of the Legions." Hushed whispers filled the room. Such a challenge involved combat to the death. "Then by the old ways it will be done," replied Emperor Myrcalus, speaking the ancient Draken dialect as if it was his own. Each was stripped to the waist and given a blade forged in the fires of Mount Crucible on planet Mikros. A space was cleared in the middle of the room. Kezrek and his commander faced one another, crouched like two feral beasts. "Begin," said the emperor. The fight was terrible to behold. Their blades flashed like lightning, thrusting and counter-thrusting, and soon, both were bleeding. Teeth were bared. Claws rent flesh. They were both taken by a primal bloodlust slaves to the savage laws that had forged Draken warriors for millennia. During their final exchange, a thunderous strike by Kezrek shattered Zarkuna's blade. The One-Horn fell to his knees as the Warbringer raised his blood-soaked blade. They locked eyes for the briefest of moments. "Thank you, my friend," said the One-Horn. And then Kezrek cut off his head. After the battle, General Kezrek Warbringer was decreed Supreme Commander of the Dominion Legions, and he faithfully served that role ever since. The gilded skull of the One-Horn is mounted upon his pauldrons, a grim reminder of the terrible price of defeat Location The keys for this issue of Tales From Beyond The Fringe can be found in Auroria. Category:Auroria:Tales From Beyond The Fringe